After Jason Kidd sliced up his Raptors with 19 assists, 16 rebounds and 16 points as the Nets captured Game 3 in a 102-89 Meadowlands rout, Mitchell described the Nets point guard’s left-knee strain this way: “Supposedly, with this so-called injury he had.”

The so-called, supposed Atlantic Division champions were lifeless, failing to get back on defense, falling behind 9-0 to set the stage for a wire-to-wire domination that put Toronto in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal. The Raptors allowed the Nets to score 31 first-quarter points.

The Raptors looked seduced by the prospect of Kidd not playing or being hobbled. Mitchell’s players were baffled afterward that Kidd was classified “a game-time decision” after missing Thursday’s practice and visiting doctors in Manhattan.

“No, he didn’t look like he had an injury,” said Chris Bosh, who looked hurt himself with an invisible 11-point, 3-of-10 outing, clogged by Kidd helping on the double-team. “I know how that is sometimes.”

The young Raptors are fast learning playoff gamesmanship. Kidd already had his triple-double sealed midway through the third quarter, running their glorious fastbreak.

“You couldn’t tell he had a strained right knee tonight,” said a frustrated Mo Peterson, who committed a flagrant foul in the third quarter, bashing a driving Richard Jefferson in the neck. “To do what he did was almost unbelievable. That’s what I’m saying, man, 16 and 19, and saying you have a bad wheel, I don’t know.